


An Unspoken Thing

by poe_daaaayyuuuumron8, TheGreatMilkshakeDetective



Series: Of Memories and Treasures to Keep [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: A nice little after the war/everything’s fine, Daisy made me post this, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, M/M, Pining, Protective Ahsoka Tano, Rex and Ahsoka won’t acknowledge that they are in love, Rex can’t sleep, Set at the Skywalker’s lake house, ahsoka has a nightmare, it’s all legal don’t worry, rexsoka, soka is 20, they got their subeltey from Anakin and Padmé, yet everyone knows already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poe_daaaayyuuuumron8/pseuds/poe_daaaayyuuuumron8, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatMilkshakeDetective/pseuds/TheGreatMilkshakeDetective
Summary: The story of Rex and Ahsoka falling in love. Only extra long because they are too stubborn to admit they have feelings for eachother.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CT-7567 | Rex/Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Of Memories and Treasures to Keep [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741099
Comments: 30
Kudos: 221





	1. Togruta’s Make Good Pillows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Skywalker’s invite their family to Padmé’s family cabin on Naboo. Despite the beauty around him, Rex can’t sleep, but luckily, someone is there to comfort him

Rex doesn’t like to sleep with his back to a door or a window. It’s an old war thing, he supposes, but the war is 3 years past now, so it should be fine. 

He should be fine. 

The Naboo fauna chittered outside, the screened in sleeping porch hardly considered ‘inside,’ really. Maybe, if he weren’t so anxious right now, he could admire the beauty. 

Chirps and howls echo through the night, and he can hear the waves lapping at the shore outside. The rough, heavy woolen blankets are a comforting weight on his body. The air smells like water and trees and flowers and distant rain. The cabin passed down in Padmé’s family is a beautiful old thing, if a little rickety. The Naboo lake country is nothing short of picture perfect. The weather was warm, and the breeze off the lake kept you cool. The water was perfect, and crystal clear, and there weren’t too many people in this secluded, gated community. 

So really, Rex should be fine. There was no reason to be practically shaking. There was nothing to be worried about, no reason for irrational fears, yet here he was. 

Really, you couldn’t completely blame him; the sleeping porch had screens for walls, with only rickety old panels you could pull down to cover them, and the lock on the door was practically useless if you pushed hard enough. The entire place was pretty much a giant window. 

So, he couldn’t sleep. He tried sleeping on his back, but that got uncomfortable after a while, so he tried sleeping on his side, but then he felt too exposed on his other side. When the need for sleep became too much and his eyes started to drift close, a noise would sound from outside, an animal, or the old wooden swing hitting the tree it was suspended from in the wind, and he’d be right back to square one. 

Finally, at almost 4am, he got up and quietly went to the kitchen (quietly was close to impossible in this house, with every floorboard creaking with every step). 

Back during the war, if he couldn’t sleep, he’d seek out one of his brothers, but the only brother he had here was Cody, and Cody was sharing a bed with Obi-Wan, and Rex really did not want to interrupt that. General Skywalker and Padmé slept in the biggest bedroom, with the twins in bunk beds in that room too, so that was definitely out if he even wanted to think of that. All that was left was Ahsoka. 

Ahsoka was a possibility, maybe. She would probably understand, and he found her very comforting, and pretty, and warm. But... no. She was sleeping, and probably wouldn’t even want-

A noise echoed from outside, and Rex jumped, tensing up, a bolt of fear racing through him, heart pounding in his chest. 

The panic melted as he realized that it was just the beginnings of a storm far away, and he clenched his hands to try to stop the sudden shaking. He sighed shakily, resorting to burying his face in his hands. It occurred to him that he was still standing in the middle of the kitchen in sleep shorts and no shirt and he should at least grab a sweater or something because it was actually decently cold and- another sound, this one much closer. 

Rex jumped, turning quickly, only to see Ahsoka leaning against the fridge, looking worried. 

“Shit,” Rex cursed softly, grabbing the countertop to steady himself. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she says, shifting her weight from foot to foot. 

Rex shakes his head, studying the stone counter in an attempt to hide his face. 

“Rex,” Ahsoka started in a low voice, trying to keep quiet, “are you okay?” She steps closer, coming to a stop by his shoulder and placing a hand on his shoulder blade. 

He jumps, stiffening at the unexpected touch. She pulls her hand back and Rex internally curses himself. “Jus’ couldn’t sleep.” 

Ahsoka is quiet for a couple moments, and Rex is about to make some stupid excuse to leave when her hand finds his back again. It settles in between his shoulder blades and trails up and down his spine slowly. He flexes his back on reflex and has to physically stop himself from shivering. 

“C’mon,” she says, tugging on his hand and walking deeper into the cabin towards the sofa. 

Rex follows, wincing and tensing up when a low rumble of thunder reaches his ears, and he freezes in place. Ahsoka hurried to his side, placing that hand on his back again, leading him to sit on the sofa. He does, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his head, jumping every time a noise sounded. 

Ahsoka sat next to him, rubbing his back and whispering soft words of comfort whenever he stiffened and jumped. She shifted, very slowly, so one of her legs was behind Rex, and, very gently, pulled him down and sat back, so he was practically laying on top of her. 

He was too tired to complain, to be honest, so he let his head droop to rest on her sternum, and, very quickly, fell asleep. Ahsoka fell asleep soon after, but not before throwing a blanket on top of them. 

Anakin is the first one to find them, surprisingly. He doesn’t really process it the first time he sees it, and has to do a double take, grinning like an idiot as he snaps a few pictures. Anakin grabs some caf and a book and goes to sit out on the dock, watching the morning boating traffic. 

Cody finds them an hour or so later, and is about to hit Rex in the face with a pillow, before Obi-Wan drags him away with a kiss on the cheek, telling him to ‘let the children sleep.’

Padmé has to literally put her hand over Luke’s mouth to keep him from yelling and waking the two up, and Leia just nods at them, almost knowingly. 

When Ahsoka finally wakes up at half past noon, she just smiles and lets her hands wander along Rex’s torso, listening to the others talking and laughing outside the open window and Rex’s steady breathing. 

Rex wakes up an hour later, more rested than he’s felt in a while. His first comprehensible, full thought, is ‘Togrutas make good pillows.’


	2. Nightmares May Wake You Up, But I Will Always be There to Craddle You Back to Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex gets the guest room and invites Ahsoka to stay with him so she doesn’t have to watch Obi-Wan and Cody make out all night. But, there is only one bed and what will Rex do when Ahsoka has a nightmare?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoy!

Rex and Ahsoka were with the rest of the family at the lake house. Since Rex had so much trouble sleeping in the enclosed porch last night, he got the guest room. But, that meant Cody and Obi-Wan were going to be cuddling and Ahsoka would be stuck on the couch watching her grandmaster/older brother/uncle/ father figure make out with her friend/cousin/older brother. Rex couldn’t subject her to that so he offered to let her stay with him. 

But their was only one bed. 

And they hadn’t talked about what happened last night. 

It was an awkward situation. Rex never wears a shirt to bed and Ahsoka often sleeps in just a sports bra and sleep shorts. Her sleep shorts happened to be more like booty shorts though as they barely covered her ass. When Rex first saw her in them with the lights on, last night it was too dark to see anything, he almost choked. Ahsoka gave him a sheepish smile and she quickly retreated under the covers. 

The two slept on opposite side of the bed. Rex slept face up in a rigid line, ever the soldier. Ahsoka slept curled up in a ball with her head resting on her arms. She still uses her arms instead of a pillow, must have been an old habit left from the war. She looked so impossibly small, so vulnerable, that Rex felt like he had to wrap his arms around her to protect her. Otherwise, she would break in front of him. He had never seen her so defenseless, yet she was so peaceful. Rex tried to go back to sleep but he couldn’t stop staring at her. Not in a creepy way, he wasn’t checking her out or anything. No, instead he felt that the moment he closed his eyes she would be in danger. She couldn’t defend herself while she was like this. She had let her guard down around him and he was not going to let anything happen to her. 

So, Rex didn’t get sleep for a second night in a row. No big deal. He had gone weeks with minimal sleep during the war. At least here he had a bed, a blanket, food, and a roof over his head. Here, he had nothing to worry about in regards to his safety. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from worrying about hers. 

He knew it was stupid. She could defend her self. She was far stronger than him. She was skilled with a lightsaber and in the force. If it was down to the two of them in a fight, she’d win every time. He finally, finally, drifted into sleep after the exhaustion of chasing the twins all day caught up to him. 

He slept soundly until he felt the bed jolt under him.

It happened again. 

And again. 

His eyes flashed open and he rolled onto his side. Ahsoka was shaking violently in her sleep and mumbling to herself. 

“No! Master! Stop! Please! No! Stop!”

Ahsoka was trembling in her sleep and kicking the blankets off her. She tossed back and forth. Rex tried to wake her by gently shaking her shoulders, to no avail. 

“‘Soka! You gotta wake up! It’s just a bad dream. You’re here with me. You’re safe. ‘Soka wake up! Please!” 

With that she shot up in the bed. She was breathing heavily and the moonlight streaming in from the window allowed Rex to see the tears streaming down her face. Rex couldn’t help himself and he wrapped her petite frame in a tight hug. “It’s okay Ahsoka. I got you. I got you.” She was still hyperventilating from her nightmare but her breathing began to slow. Rex could feel her heart racing as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Y-you wanna talk about it?” She looked up at him with eyes full of sorrow and tears. It broke his heart to see her like this. He wanted to know what caused her all this pain but he wouldn’t press her if she didn’t want to talk. She nodded at him and shifted slightly in his arms so she could face him while they spoke. 

“I was back on Mortis. Where Anakin and Obi-Wan and I met the Ones.” Her words were separated by sharp inhales. Her breathing was getting better but it was difficult for her to speak. Rex leaned in to kiss her on the forehead but he stopped himself before she noticed. She gained her composure and steadied her breathing before speaking again, “the Son, who was filled with the dark side, he possessed me. I tried to fight him but I wasn’t strong enough. I-I tried to kill Anakin. I _wanted_ to kill Anakin. I was filled with such anger, such hate. I wanted to please the Son. But when I gave him what he wanted, the dagger that could kill him and his family, he betrayed me. He killed me. “ Ahsoka was sobbing by now and Rex would be lying if he denied holding back his own tears. Rex leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Ahsoka’s. They stayed like that for a moment before Ahsoka addressed the elephant in the room, “uh, Rex, what are you doing?”

Rex turned bright red with embarrassment. “Well, um, it’s called a Keldabe Kiss. It’s something Mandalorians do when they are in full armor but want to reassure their loved ones. I-I guess I wanted to, um, reassure you?” Ahsoka smiled. Rex looked so embarrassed but to Ahsoka it was adorable. She planted a light kiss on his lips which made him turn redder. Rex was a full bumbling mess but he had a massive smile across his face. “S-so h-how ‘bout you finish t-telling me ‘bout y-your dream?” He cringed at his own lack of subtlety. But, he honestly had no clue how to respond to her kissing him other than making out with her but that didn’t seem appropriate as she clearly was not okay. 

“Oh- my dream? Yeah, okay. Um- well when the Son killed me-“ 

“Wait you died?!?” 

“Yeah, I mentioned it already.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

“I just told you!”

“Why didn’t you tell me after it happened!”

“It didn’t come up?” 

Rex was in shock. He had actually lost Ahsoka and he hadn’t even tried to save her. Tears were streaming down his face. Ahsoka took a play from his book and pressed her forehead against his. “Hey, I’m okay now. I was only dead for a few minutes. And there was nothing you could have done. We were on a strange planet and no one could have reached us. It wasn’t your fault. And I’m here now. See? I’m right here, in your arms, and I’m alive.” 

Rex buried his face in her shoulder. He knew he was supposed to be comforting her but the thought of her dying and him being powerless to stop it broke him. “C-can you tell me what happened next?” Ahsoka nodded and laced her fingers through his. 

“While I was down, the Son used the dagger to kill his sister. Anakin and the Father helped the sister transfer her life force into me, so her last act was saving my life. The Father then killed himself which took away the Son’s immortality and allowed Anakin to kill him.”

Rex pulled Ahsoka into a much tighter hug and kissed her on the forehead. She nuzzled her face deeper into his shoulder. “The scary part wasn’t when I died. It was the fact that if couldn’t resist the darkness. I let it consume me and I tried to kill two of the people that have always been by my side. Anakin never gave up on me, though. Even after I tried to kill him. He remained loyal to me even when I had broken all of his trust. I can never forgive myself for my actions, even if everything turned out okay.” She squeezed Rex’s shoulders tighter, refusing to let go. 

“It seems to me that it wasn’t your fault. The Son was controlling you, so you didn’t try to kill Anakin, he did. He was the manifestation of the dark side. You couldn’t hold him off but that isn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. You would never try to kill Anakin. You are such an amazing person. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.” His voice was steady, even as his heart pounded in his ears. He was never more sure of what he was saying. 

“Thank you, Rex.” Rex looked down at her and smiled. 

“Anytime, ‘Soka.”

And with that, Rex laid back down. But this time, Ahsoka’s head was resting on his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around her. Both of them slept though the night. And, even if one of them did wake up, the other would be there to lull them back to sleep.


	3. In Which Things Go Wonderfully Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final installment of Ahsoka and Rex’s long path to admitting their obvious feelings for each other! (feat. Fishing and frozen fries)

Fishing, Ahsoka decides, is very boring. Anakin and Obi-Wan seem to think it’s a fine way to pass time, and so, of course, Cody said he would go, and then the twins, and the twins are a handful, so Padmé said she would go to watch them, and that just left Rex and Ahsoka alone at the house while the others went and sat on a boat in the middle of the lake, and honestly, things are a little bit awkward between them, so they said they would tag along as well. 

Unfortunately, what they didn’t know was that fishing is so freaking boring. They’ve been out here for almost an hour now, and they haven’t even caught anything. Ahsoka gave up a while ago, leaving the rod with the boys, and heading to where Padmé sat with the twins. Leia grabs onto Ahsoka, and Luke follows soon after, so she’s left with two three-year-olds hanging off of her and jumping up and down. Eventually, they settle down enough so that they can go back to their mother, and Ahsoka climbs the skinny ladder to the second deck of the boat, and basks in the sun, stretching out (and if anyone were watching, they might say she looked like a cat in a patch of sunlight). She dozes off, the sun warming her skin. 

-

“So, Rexy,” Cody said in a low voice from his spot next to him. 

Rex hummed in acknowledgment, propping his legs up. 

“What’s going on with you and the Commander?” he asked, grinning teasingly. 

Rex works his jaw, trying not to roll his eyes. “Nothin’s going on.” 

Cody scoffs, nudging his shoulder, and rolls his eyes. “As if. You’ve slept together for the past two nights, and I swear to the little gods, you’re obviously in love, you di’kut.” 

Rex chokes, slapping a hand over his mouth, and blushing, listening to the two Generals snickering behind them. “Cody shut the kriff up,” he says urgently, glancing up to where Ahsoka lays on the top of the boat.

“C’mon, brother, something is going on between you two.” Cody grabs his beer and takes a swig, raising his eyebrow at Rex. 

“Seriously, Cody, it’s nothing,” Rex shrugs and does his best to hide the disappointment he feels, at the fact that it is nothing.

“You’re disappointed,” Obi-Wan noted, not looking up from his Ryl poetry book. 

“I’m not!-“ he lowers his voice. “I’m not disappointed.” 

“Uh, I’m pretty sure you’re disappointed Rexster,” Anakin said, throwing an arm around his Captain’s shoulders. 

Rex frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t care. It’s nothing. It’s not... it’s not like that.” 

Anakin and Obi-Wan chuckled, smiling at Rex. “It is, extremely obviously, like that,” Obi-Wan said, leaning forward to kiss Cody on the cheek before getting up to make himself a drink. 

“Listen, Rex, I probably shouldn’t say this, ‘cause, it’s like, cheating at the horrible game that is telling if you’re in love or not, but Ahsoka really likes you, so you should do something about it! Tell her!” Anakin nudges his shoulder, turning back to his fishing rod. 

“Hey, are you guys done fishing? It’s kinda boring,” Cody says, nudging his rod with his foot. 

“It’s extremely boring,” Rex replies, taking the drink offered to him by Obi-Wan. 

“It is not boring, you three just have no patience.” Obi-Wan sits back down, picking up his book again. 

“Yeah, whatever,” Cody grumbles, pulling his shirt off and tossing it at Obi. “Take your hook out, I’m going swimming. Don’t want to accidentally catch me, right?” 

“I’ve already caught you, love. But fine, I suppose I will,” Obi-Wan sighs exaggeratedly and takes his hook out, Ahsoka’s long-forgotten one too. 

Once the sharp objects are out of the water, Cody proceeds to vault over the side of the boat and into the water. Rex laughs and follows soon after, and soon Anakin joins too, and they’re all laughing and shouting, and Cody and Rex look like they’re trying to drown each other. The twins, after putting on little life jackets, jump in too. 

“Ahsoka!” Anakin shouts, waking her from her light slumber. “Come on! Jump in!” 

Ahsoka gets up, stretching, and smiles at the group in the water. “I’m good, Skyguy. I’ll stay up here.” 

“Awwww,” the twins groan, disappointedly, from the water. “Auntie ‘Soka, please?” 

Ahsoka rolls her eyes, smiling at the two, before making her way back down the ladder and to the little door in the side of the boat. She opened it and sat, letting her legs dangle over the side, barely skimming the water. 

“Oh, that just doesn’t count!” Cody yelled, grabbing onto the side of the boat. 

“I’m fine right here, Codes,” she laughed, rolling her eyes at him. 

Rex, floating on his back, eyed Cody suspiciously. He knew his brother, and there was a good chance that he would try something to get Ahsoka and Rex together. Anakin was treading water by Rex with the twins directly next to him, Padmé keeping an eye on them, Obi-Wan trying desperately to remain invested in his poetry book, but Cody was swimming with no shirt on and glistening with water over his muscles and smirking wildly, and damn if that wasn’t hot. 

Rex gave up on floating and dived underwater, pushing himself towards the boat and resurfacing a couple of feet from Ahsoka. Cody grinned, pulling himself up and shaking his hair out once he got back on solid ground, strolling to Obi-Wan and sitting next to him. Obi-Wan spared him a glance, before turning back to his book, handing Cody a towel. Cody sighed and took it, frowning at the lack of attention his boyfriend was giving him. 

Back in the water, Leia and Luke are making their way back to their mother. Ahsoka lifted them, getting them back into the boat. Anakin follows, pulling himself up. Rex stays towards the side, and, instead of climbing up himself, he puts out a hand to Ahsoka, like he needs help. She takes his hand and starts to pull, but Rex pulls first, sending her into the water. The others already on the boat laugh. 

Ahsoka and Rex resurface, wiping the water out of their eyes. Rex laughs, treading water, and Ahsoka can’t stop from smiling, but she hits him in the chest. “You jerk!” she shouts. 

Rex just laughs in reply and makes for the boat, Ahsoka on his heels. He lets her go first, and she eyes him suspiciously. As she’s halfway up the ladder, Rex follows and surprisingly lets her climb up without pulling any shenanigans like throwing her back into the water. 

Once Ahsoka’s on the boat, she grabs her towel (a blue that matches her lekku beautifully, Rex notes) and wraps it around herself, turning to send a halfhearted glare to the former Captain. She’s met with a cheeky grin and a glistening bare chest. 

It’s not the first time she’s seen him shirtless, but she has been tactfully avoiding looking at him the whole trip, and for just a moment, she lets herself look at him.

Her eyes land on the scar in the middle of his chest, a token from Selucami that she had only heard about. She remembers his reports were strangely vague, and he had been oddly silent whenever asked about it. His shoulders are littered with various scars too, blaster bolt grazes or, sometimes, startling similar to the one on his chest. His entire torso is heavily muscled, veins and abs, a deep tan, only accentuated by the ever-present sun he’s been in for the past three days. Right under his left collarbone, is a tattoo; small, no longer than her pinky finger, so small she can barely read it. 'Ijaat.'

Luke rushes at him, and Rex swoops him up, tickling his stomach, causing the child to shriek with laughter. Leia follows soon after, wrapping herself around his leg and plopping down as if she were a speeder boot on his foot. He struggles comically to move, causing both the children to fall into a fit of laughter, giggling joyfully. 

“Snips!” Anakin shouts, and Ahsoka startles a little, jolted from her thoughts. He’s grinning, and so is Cody. “You’re staring,” he hums in Huttese. 

The language is not as familiar to Ahsoka as Basic, or Mando’a, because most of the time, Anakin just used it to curse or to make fun of some senator or someone in front of them, but she knows this, at least. 

Ahsoka feels her skin flush, darkening to a deep orange. “I am not!” she shoots back, in Basic, and sits down purposefully a ways away from him and Cody. 

Rex is still playing with the kids, and collapses dramatically on a seat, dragging the two with him. Ahsoka forced herself to look away and busied herself with the fraying edge of the towel. 

Eventually, they took the boat back in, and dinner was prepped. Ahsoka never was very good at cooking, and neither were Anakin, Rex, or Cody, but Anakin and Cody were playing with the twins, and Ahsoka wanted to help cook. Padmé let her bake the frozen space fries, which Ahsoka considered to be a great honor because that’s the best part of any meal. Rex paces from the kitchen to the pool to Obi-Wan manning the grill and back again, looking for something to do. 

“Are you alright?” Padmé asks after Rex wanders inside for the seventh time. 

“Yes ma’am, just bored,” he answers, and normally, Padmé would remind him to drop the title, but she can tell he’s saying it just to say it, not because he is seeing her as higher than him. He comes to a stop behind Ahsoka. “Think cold fries taste any good?” 

Ahsoka is very aware of him suddenly, his chest almost pressed against her back, and the space between them feels like too much and too little at the same time. 

“Um, probably not,” she replies, busying herself by wiping her hands off on a towel. 

“Let’s try and find out,” is all he says before plopping a frozen fry in his mouth. He chews for a second before his brow furrows in a way that suggests that it wasn’t very good. 

“How is it?” She asks, grinning up at him. 

“Ever eaten uncomfortably cold cardboard before?” Ahsoka laughs, shaking her head. “It’s like that, but lightly salted.” Ahsoka laughs again, and Rex grins. 

Dinner is relatively uneventful, minus a minor food fight between Luke and Anakin, quickly shut down by Padmé, and Leia asking loudly if Cody and Obi-Wan were going to get married. Rex nearly chokes on his food laughing, while Obi-Wan and Cody both flush red. Padmé and Anakin laugh before lightly reprimanding the child (Ahsoka doubts that Leia takes it seriously at all because both of them are smiling and trying not to laugh).

After dinner is all cleaned up and everyone is full, Padmé and Anakin get the kids ready for bed and tucked in. Obi-Wan and Cody sit around the fire pit outside and talk in low tones with each other, happy and in love. Anakin and Padmé join them after the kids fall asleep. Ahsoka stays inside for a little bit, going over emails from work (secretly, though, because work is banned at the cabin, by order of Padmé) and comes out a few minutes later, a blanket around her shoulders. 

“Where’s Rex?” she asks, frowning at his empty seat around the fire. 

Cody grinned, sleepily. “Went down to the dock to watch the sunset,” he answered. 

Ahsoka nods, ignoring the rising blush at his teasing grin, and starts off to the dock. It’s a short little path, past the rickety old swing hanging from the biggest tree in the yard, and Ahsoka absentmindedly pushes the empty swing slightly, letting it thump against the tree trunk. 

Rex sits with his legs dangling over the edge of the dock, all the way at the end, with a beer by his side that looks completely full, in a Baja hoodie that looks like it’d be either very scratchy or a well-worn kind of soft that all things ‘home’ have. 

“Mind if I join you?” Ahsoka asks once she gets closer. 

Rex smiles, one that looks maybe a little hesitant. “Sure thing.” He moves his drink, and ‘Soka lays the blanket down on the cold durasteel dock and sits criss-cross, wrapping her arms around herself against the cool wind coming off the lake. 

Rex, seemingly noticing this, sheds his sweatshirt in one smooth move, and holds it out to her. 

She accepts it gratefully (it’s that well-worn soft, and smells just like Rex in a way she can’t describe), blushing slightly, as he straightens his white tank top and leans back on his hands. 

The orange setting sun, Rex notices, as he tries desperately not to stare at the girl next to him, brings out her complexion beautifully. 

She’s beautiful. 

She’s beautiful, and he fell so hopelessly in love with her, and _God_ he doesn’t know what to do. 

And he’s staring. 

And she noticed. 

“What?” she questions, laughing nervously. 

He’s blushing, he’s sure, but puts on a false sense of confidence over his pounding heart. “Nothin’,” he shrugs. “You’re just pretty.” 

She flushes, probably even more than Rex did, the usual deep citrus orange deepening to a burnt sienna that makes him grin, and she looks away. 

“You’re pretty too, you know,” she finally says, grinning down at her hands clasped in her lap. 

He grins too. “Yeah?” 

“Well, no,” she corrects herself. “You’re _handsome,_ Cody’s pretty.” 

Rex snorts. “So there’s a difference between pretty and handsome?” he asks, something teasing in his tone. 

“Well yeah!” Ahsoka says, turning to face him fully, smiling wide in a way that makes his heart skip a beat. “Pretty is like...” Her voice trails off, thinking. “Pretty is Cody, okay? It’s like, handsome, but in a softer way!” 

Rex nods slowly, pretending to completely understand, when he really only understood a little. 

“Handsome, is, well, it’s you.” Her voice is softer now, less confident, less teasing, and for a long moment, she just kinda stares at him. Then she shakes herself out lightly and shrugs. “I think you look very different from Cody.” 

Rex rolls his eyes. “Good. That ugly son of a-“ 

Ahsoka laughs, her head tilting back and looking so startlingly beautiful that Rex remembers suddenly, just how much he loves her. 

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, watching the slow, but steady, boating traffic. Someone’s playing music, from across the lake, a steady song, that gives off the perfect vibes for a sunset on the lake. 

The water laps quietly at the shore, cool and clear, and the world around them is comforting, and pulsing with life, so much so that Ahsoka should feel completely, and totally, at peace. 

Except she’s not, because here she is, sitting next to the man she has loved for so long, after calling him handsome, repeatedly, and blushing so hard she felt her face literally burning. 

And Rex feels pretty much exactly the same. He’s never been very in touch with emotions, but good _gods_ there are so many going through his head right now. 

“What did you plan on doing when the war ended?” Ahsoka asks, gazing out at the lake. 

Rex inhales deeply, smelling the rich ground, the faint stink of the lake, the blanket Ahsoka sits on that smells like laundry detergent and that faint closet smell from being locked away all summer, and feeling the warm sun on his skin. 

“I never really thought about it.” Ahsoka gives him a look and he sits up slightly so he can turn more towards her. “Really. I never thought...” His voice trailed off. “I never thought I could get to choose what I wanted to do. I always figured we’d still be the Grand Army of the Republic, after the war ended. And,” he shrugs. “I never really thought the war would end. Not really, at least.” 

“What do you mean?” She asks softly. 

“I mean, I always imagined that we’d still be fighting, because that’s what we were made to do. But we aren’t anymore, so that’s good. But when you think of the war, it never really feels like it ended.” His voice was quiet, and sad, almost. “It’s like it’s still going on, in your head, at least.” 

Ahsoka nods slowly. “Yeah, I know.” She’s staring at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap, and Rex curses himself for turning this conversation so sad. 

With only a seconds hesitation, Rex sits up fully and reaches out, gently taking her hands in his own and putting an arm around her waist. She nearly melts into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. 

There’s a long minute that feels too short where the only sounds are their breathing, even though the world around them pulses with boat engines, bird calls, crickets, soft music, wind chimes, faint crackling of campfires, and soft, far away murmurs from their family around the fire. 

Her voice is quiet when she talks again, almost pondering, but Rex thinks she sounds almost sad. “Back during the war... when I left... I never told you goodbye…” She trails off, shifting closer to him. 

He smiles for her sake. “It’s alright, you were pretty busy, I didn’t mind.”

It’s a lie, Ahsoka knows it’s a lie. 

In truth, he had been nothing short of heartbroken when she left. He hadn’t loved her as he did now, back then, but she was still his Commander, his friend. His best friend. 

“I should’ve.”

Rex leans back so he can look at her. “It’s alright, really. You’re back now, that’s all that matters.”

There’s a few moments of comfortable silence, and the only sound is the soft murmur of the world around them. 

Ahsoka shifts and Rex thinks she looks the slightest bit uncomfortable. “Last night…” Ahsoka bites her lip. “I kissed you.”

Rex’s face starts to burn, and he rubs the back of his neck. “Oh, uh, yeah, you did.” Inside, he’s panicking, one hundred percent panicking. “You don’t have to explain if you didn’t mean it-”

“I meant it.”

Ahsoka is still, like a statue, not letting herself fidget or move, too nervous for his answer.

“....Oh,” is his only reply. 

Immediately, Ahsoka starts to overthink everything. Was that too strong? Does he not feel the same way? She thought he did, with everything that happened last night, and the night before. But, what if-

He kisses her.

It’s nothing, really. Just a small peck to her cheek, barely lasting half a second. Just as soon as it starts, it’s over, and Rex pulls back, quickly, face burning and red, heart pounding. But he still kissed her. 

“I’m sorry, I-,” he starts to ramble. 

But, he’s cut off by Ahsoka’s lips. 

It is so soft and so sweet and simultaneously everything and nothing Rex could ever imagine, and he faintly remembers that Fives owes Cody 20 credits, and he reaches a hand up, grazing her lekku, and he swears she shivers against him, one hand reaching up to cup the back of his neck and pull him closer. 

He tilts his head, deepening the kiss, the hand on her head tail moving to her side and pulling her into him and good _God_ he really should’ve done this sooner. 

When they finally pull back, after the shortest eternity of her life, Ahsoka grins, flushed nearly red, and whispers, “We really should have done that sooner.” 

Rex laughs, breathily, flushed as well. “I was just thinking that,” he hums before pulling her into their second, but certainly not last, kiss of the day. 

-

“Fucking finally!” Cody exclaims, before getting a hand slapped over his mouth. 

“Shh, they’ll hear you!” Anakin whisper shouts, before jerking his hand back. “Did you just lick my hand?” 

Cody grins and shrugs before turning his attention back to the dock. 

“It only took them a couple years,” Padmé mumbles, but she’s grinning, peering over the bush with the rest of them. 

“Well,” Obi-Wan said, resting a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “It seems our padawan is all grown up.” 

“Oh don’t remind me.” Anakin groaned something both happy and sad in his voice. “It seems like only yesterday she earned her nickname.” 

“Yes, our kid is a grown up now, but are we done here? We’re kind of being creepy,” Padmé supplied, glancing between the three others. 

“Okay but can we freak out when we get inside?” Cody asked, dead serious. 

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said, Padmé and Anakin nodding. 

They slowly creeped inside, promptly freaking out and jumping up and down once they were out of hearing range of the two love birds on the dock.


End file.
